Speechless
by Lillystream
Summary: Maki Nishikino is known widely as the cool, closed off beauty from μ's. No one seems to be able to get her to open up. They finally thought they had something... until they are hit by a tragic accident; one no one is sure if they could ever recover from. Their abilities, wills, and bonds will be pushed to their limits as they deal with the aftermath. ((NicoMaki main focus))


Chapter 1

"Maki-chan!" Rin called to her friend, "Let's all go home together!"

"E-eh?"

It had been another normal day of practice for the members of Muse; dance rehearsal, singing practice, and stretching. Eli and Umi had led their practice and the others followed along, doing their best to execute the new dance moves correctly. Then Maki lead the group in vocal exercises; the crimson-haired girl ended up snapping at Honoka, Nico, and Rin to focus. This would cause the other members to laugh due to Maki's overly-serious tone.

They had all just finished changing out of their practice clothes and had begun to leave the school gates when Rin proposed the idea; just as Maki was preparing to turn the corner to start her way home.

"Why?"

"Because!" Rin dragged it out in a whine. "We don't ever go out together as the whole group! We need to have fun too!"

"But I need to study," Maki grumbled, twisting her hair nervously as she always did upon feeling uncertain.

"Ah, I do as well…" Umi admitted, choosing to ignore the half-hearted glare Honoka shot her way.

"You guys could go…" Maki suggested towards the remaining seven members, though Honoka and Rin were having none of it.

"You just have to come!" whined Honoka loudly.

"It won't be the same!" Rin agreed, just as obnoxiously.

Despite Maki and Umi both being two-thirds of the stricter members of μ's - the other third being Eli - neither could refuse their ginger friends. They each reluctantly agreed to spend the day with their group members, much to the excitement of the others.

"Where should we go first?" Kotori quipped cheerfully, the others murmuring in thought. "Any ideas, Hanayo?"

"Eh!? Me…?"

"Yeah! Kayochin, where do you wanna go?"

Honoka nodded enthusiastically. "How about that new café we were looking at the other day? You know, the one with the big banner!"

"Ah, okay! That place looked super cute!"

The girls of μ's chit-chatted together as they paraded throughout town, stopping at all sorts of shops. Honoka and Nico refused to pass the arcade without playing for an hour, much to the frustration of Maki and Umi - neither of them were good at videogames.

Maki's face was red with anger and shame as the plush fell from the claw for the third time in a row. She huffed and turned from it, upset, as she fumed silently.

"Here," a voice said suddenly, next to her. "I'll win it for you."

Maki looked down and saw Nico slipping money into the machine and starting the game up.

"Wha-what are you t-talking about?" she stuttered, embarrassed. She hadn't thought any of the others were anywhere near her while she played. Maki had assumed they would all be busy with their mini DDR tournament she had walked away from.

"I saw you trying to win the leopard," her smaller senpai stated, pointing to the larger plush that she had dropped repeatedly. "So I'm going to get it for you."

"I-it's not like I really want it or anything!" the taller girl said defensively, her cheeks flushing a pretty pink.

"Sure. I'm still getting it for you," Nico said nonchalantly, a small smile on her face. _She's too cute for her own damn good_, she thought to herself, skilled hands working at the buttons of the machine. She was used to getting the prizes from these things for her siblings.

Sure enough, the large leopard dropped in the prize claim and Nico watched Maki look over with wide, glowing eyes. Nico placed the stuffed animal in her kohai's arms and saw as her apprehensive, awe-struck expression shifted to something warm and enchanting. The red-head was smiling bright and wide, nuzzling the plush to her chest.

"Thank you, Nico-chan!"

"A-ah…" the older girl could hardly think straight, drinking in the sight before her. "N-no problem…"

They walked over to the others together just as Rin and Nozomi were wrapping up their match. Rin was obviously winning and Nozomi was definitely out of breath, but she still smiled and laughed along with her other idols.

"There they are," Eli said, noticing Maki and Nico. "We're about to… leave?" She seemed to have noticed Maki's new plush as well, as she smiled and glanced at Nico knowingly. Maki's expression was still warm and light-hearted. The other members of μ's looked over at Eli's words and all of them couldn't help but admire the rare scene of Maki's warmth. They were all so used to the girl being shut off and cold. Nico couldn't help but feel a bit of pride, knowing that she was the one who had brought this side of Maki out this time around. "I see you have a new friend, Maki."

"Mmhmm…" Maki said, hugging the cat closer to her. "Nico-chan won him for me."

Nico hadn't been expecting the praise - well that was as close to praising anyone as Maki usually got - from the girl. She couldn't help the blush from gracing her. "O-of course! Super Idol Nico-nii is amazing after all!"

Maki actually nodded, surprising everyone. "You're really good at the claw machine. I never really got to do this kind of stuff as a kid…"

"Aw, Maki-chan…" Honoka couldn't help but express sympathy. Maki was very wealthy, so she didn't have a horrible childhood in the slightest. However, the girl was not exposed to many things regular children knew.

"C-can we do something like this again?" Maki asked softly, burying her face in the plush's fur.

"Of course!" Eli said confidently, looking around to make sure we agreed.

"Duh, we're friends aren't we?" Nico snipped playfully, "We're going to do tons of stuff like this. Next time I'll win you a panda!"

"A panda?" Maki questioned?

"Yeah! Your leopard's gonna need a pal, isn't he?"

Maki blushed and smiled. "Yeah… Toru will definitely want company while I'm at school."

"Toru…?" Rin questioned, "The leopard?"

"I like it!" Kotori cooed from Maki's side.

They all walked back to the train station together, until Maki accidentally dropped Toru in the street. Crying out, she went over to get him. Some of the others had begun to walk in her direction, wondering how she had managed to drop the plush so far away. However, none of them had even noticed the large truck accelerating down the road at an alarming speed. Maki had taken a few steps back towards them before Rin called out;

"Whoa! That car's going really fast!"

Maki spun around and froze like a deer in headlights. The other Muse members could only watch, horrified. Blood splattered on the ground and Eli - despite panicking internally - was already calling the hospital as Honoka and the others raced to their friend.

It was unnerving and surreal to everyone. Maki was such a calm, cool, collected person; beautiful, graceful, flawless. To see such a person bloodied and completely broken on the ground destroyed them all.

"MAKI!"

When the ambulance took her away, they all chased after it to the hospital. It was the hospital that Maki's own family owned. Her mother and father, upon seeing her, went into a frantic and frenzied flurry of movements and procedures.

Hours later, her father - looking grim - came out from the surgery room.

"H-how does it look...?" Honoka asked fearfully.

"She... there's some problems we're going to have to work on with therapy, but she can't continue her idol work like this. Too many fractures in her hips, legs, and ribs... too much blood loss... and not to mention her vocal cords-"

"Her vocal cords?" Nico snapped.

The group looked extremely concerned and serious. Maki was the best singer in the entire group. She valued her voice more than anything. It would kill her if she couldn't sing as well as before...

"They're... not unfixable, but they won't be working for some time. I... wouldn't be expecting anything."

This stunned everyone.


End file.
